A terminally-ill British man has been assisted to die on December 8 at Dignitas in Switzerland at his request, after Swiss Covid-19 quarantine rules almost jeopardised his plans.
Former businessman, David Peace, 72, from London, had terminal motor neurone disease and in his final months had called publicly for a change in the law surrounding assisted dying in the UK.
Mr Peace’s case was raised in the Commons on the same day, December 8, in an adjournment debate held by the Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP, co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Choice at the End of life.
Mr Peace’s carer, who accompanied him and wished to remain anonymous, had confirmed that Mr Peace had died “quickly and peacefully" at 11.20am that morning.
They added: "We were able to say goodbye and we were smiling to the end.”
Despite this peaceful passing, in a statement Mr Peace wrote the week prior, he explained that his final days had been tainted by panic and anxiety after Swiss quarantine measures for British travellers were announced and then revoked within the space of a few days.
Mr Peace said: “I have terminal motor neurone disease, a fatal illness for which there is no treatment or cure. It has robbed me of my ability to speak, swallow, balance and walk…I simply want the right to die on my own terms.
“My only option has been to plan an assisted death at Dignitas in Switzerland, which I have done in meticulous detail over the past few months… this has given me comfort and peace of mind... [despite] knowing that travel restrictions or lockdowns could jeopardise my plans.”
On average 50 Brits travel to Switzerland for an assisted death every year. This is a process that can take months to arrange, costs £10,000 on average, requires that individuals retain the physical strength to make the journey, and comes with a risk of prosecution for anyone accompanying or assisting them.
Mr Peace continued: “With my final appointment set for next week, new Swiss quarantine rules for British visitors mean my fears have materialised. I cannot possibly isolate there for 10 days as required – not only is there insufficient time before my appointment, but the thought of spending my final days in an anonymous hotel room is unconscionable.
“I have been forced to spend my last reserves of time and energy trying to secure a waiver from the Swiss authorities… Fortunately, I was able to have my request expedited…The relief I feel cannot be overstated.
“I am enormously grateful, but very sadly, the close friends I had hoped would also accompany me are no longer able to [even after quarantine rules were overturned].
“The emotional and logistical nightmare I have endured over the past few days would have been avoided entirely under the Assisted Dying Bill, which would have enabled me to go peacefully and with dignity in my own home at a time of my choosing.
"The pandemic has surely proven beyond doubt that Dignitas is not a solution to our outdated law. We urgently need this option here, in this country.”
The Assisted Dying Bill, proposed by crossbench peer and chair of Dignity in Dying, Baroness Meacher, passed unopposed at Second Reading in the House of Lords on October 22 of this year.
It would legalise assisted dying as a choice for terminally ill, mentally competent adults in their final months of life alongside existing end-of-life care options.
Andrew Mitchell MP raised Mr Peace’s case in the Commons on December 8 in an adjournment debate.
Mr Mitchell said: “The already cruel situation, where British citizens can have the death they want only if they travel to another country, becomes yet more unacceptable when even this most exceptional option can be withdrawn with such short notice.
“That is not to blame Switzerland - it is the fault of our own failure as a country to provide that option at home, preferring to outsource our compassion to another country.”
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